A proposal on the Minneapolis ballot about the future of policing in the city where George Floyd was killed has divided Democrats. Many who oppose the measure believe calls to “defund” police cost the party seats in statehouses and Congress last year.
asks voters whether they want to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety that would take a “comprehensive public health approach” that “could include” police officers “if necessary.” It doesn’t use the word “defund,” and critics say that was a deliberate attempt by a majority of City Council members to conceal their aims.
Minister JaNaé Bates, a spokeswoman for the pro-amendment Yes 4 Minneapolis coalition, said she’s frustrated by the divisions among Democrats. Those who depict the proposal as defunding the police are using “fear-based rhetoric” and a “right-wing dog whistle” as a distraction, she said. Police “most certainly” will be part of the proposed new agency along with professionals trained to handle situations for which armed officers are not suited, she said.
The group has stressed the need for change and sought to reassure voters that the new structure will make everyone safer. It has also disputed suggestions from opponents that passage would mean the departure of Medaria Arradondo, the city’s popular Black chief, even though Arradondo said passage would put any law enforcement leader in a “wholly unbearable position.”